I generally use 4140 or H13....but honestly, it's not going to matter if you're cutting feather pattern with a press...nothing will hold up to the heat and pressure. Well, let me rephrase that.....nothing that I can afford will hold up! I'm sure some of the "super" alloys might....but a piece the size needed for a hot cut would make you faint!

I'm lucky enough to have a friend who works on heavy equipment, and he brings me dozer cutting edges and such.....I always count on a cutter used for feather pattern to only be good for one or two billets....then I build a new cutter for the next.

__________________

Caffreyknives@gmail.com"Nobody cares what you know.....until they know you care."See me at table 2Q at the Blade Show!

Are you talking about the feather billets, or the cutting tool? The first time I made a cutter, I forge it to shape on the air hammer, then went through heat treating it, thinking that would help it hold up. NOT! After that I just forge to shape on the air hammer, let the cutter cool on the shop floor, then finish it out on the grinder and use/destroy it. Then make another when the need arises. I don't make a lot of feather pattern simply because my press has such a short "throw".....between the room needed for the cutter and the billet, the longest feather billet I can make is about 4". Hopefully that will all change soon, as I'm in the process of acquiring a much larger press, with much more "throw".

__________________

Caffreyknives@gmail.com"Nobody cares what you know.....until they know you care."See me at table 2Q at the Blade Show!